50-55 for BJP; BSP second in UP: Amit Shah

A day after voting concluded in the marathon general elections and exit polls predicted a comfortable majority for the NDA, the BJP general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah, Tuesday claimed his party would win 50-55 seats in the state, and the BSP would emerge second there.

“It will be between 50 and 55 seats in UP,” Shah said when asked about his assessment of the BJP’s poll prospects in the heartland state that is critical to the party’s hope of coming to power at the Centre.

Speaking at the Idea Exchange interaction of The Indian Express, Shah said Mayawati’s BSP would be the second largest party in the state as anti-incumbency would hurt the ruling SP.

Shah, considered a close confidante of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, also claimed that while the NDA would get a clear majority, the BJP would welcome new allies if they are ready to support the BJP’s agenda.

“We contested elections for 272-plus seats. The BJP-led NDA will get somewhere between 295 and 305 seats across the country,” Shah said. “We will get around 300 seats. We have no objection if anyone wants to support us on our agenda.”

Shah also ruled out the possibility of anyone other than Modi becoming the prime minister from the BJP. “Our party parliamentary board has declared Narendra Modi as the PM candidate. There is no question of if and but. I believe we will get around 300 seats,” Shah said when asked about the chances of other BJP leaders if the party did not get a clear majority.

The BJP would win due to the “cumulative” effect of a host of factors, the former Gujarat minister of state for home said.

“A big victory comes from cumulative factors. One is the leadership of Narendra Modi and the popular trust in his leadership. Second is the BJP’s stellar role as an opposition. Third, it has been anti-incumbency against the central and state governments for which Narendra Modi appeared as a solution,” Shah said, adding that the BJP had succeeded in encashing anti-incumbency.